A/N: occurs during OOTP, somewhat AU for obvious reasons. Just testing the waters and playing with them a bit, nothing too serious.

Fred sat between George and Lee Jordan in the Great Hall filling his plate. Dumbledore had recently left the school under the control of Umbridge. The twins saw it as their personal responsibility to give the woman as much hell as possible. At the same time, they realized their time at Hogwarts was limited. It didn't particularly bother them but Fred didn't fancy the idea of leaving certain people behind to fend for themselves, their best friend Lee for one.

The night before they had set off their box of fireworks. It had been especially entertaining to watch Umbridge run madly all over the school trying to destroy them all. But the best reward of all had been when Hermione had admired their work, his work. He would never admit it but he had fancied her since the beginning of the DA. Only one person knew of his affections for her and that was, of course, George. They had never spoken of it but Fred saw the looks his brother threw him in her presence. A sharp elbow dug into his ribs and he shot a glare at George who gestured towards the entrance.

Hermione went into the Great Hall led by Harry and Ron. They headed towards the empty seats across from the twins and Lee. She felt her stomach do a flip when the twins looked up at their approach and smiled. There was nothing special about it, of course. They smiled at everyone, particularly girls, all the time. But she could still enjoy it. She sat flanked by the boys and saw several jealous glances sent in her direction from a group of 6th year girls at their table. She rolled her eyes and started to fill her plate. The boys chatted mostly about Quidditch. It wasn't long before she had tuned them out and ate without noticing the frequent glances Fred was sending her.

"Hey guys." Seamus sat beside Ron but leaned forward so he could see her. "Hermione." They all mumbled their hello's through full mouths except Fred and George who offered slight nods before they shared a look. "Seen Dean?"

"Not since lunch." Harry offered with a shrug. It wasn't unheard of for Seamus to sit with them but it was rare. It was also very unusual for him to not be with his best friend, Dean.

"Last I saw him, he was leaving the common room with Parvati." Hermione didn't even look up when she spoke. The two had been all over each other and she didn't care to think about what she had heard Parvati whisper. She felt a blush tint her cheeks and hoped no one noticed. Once again the boys struck up conversation about Quidditch, occasionally they relived moments from the World Cup the year before. She glanced up from her potato to catch Fred looking at her, his ears turned a light pink but he offered her a small smile. What was that about? After a few moments she noticed the talk was more subdued than before. Seamus had brought up their own team and that was enough to throw all the boys into a temper. The twins sent glares up to Umbridge where she sat at the High Table. Harry and Ron just became sullen. "So, those fireworks yesterday were really spectacular." She tried to pull the boys out of their funk. The twins turned to her beaming. The others all started nodding and discussing their favorite ones. "Did you see when those two collided last night?" The rest of dinner passed pleasantly.

When Ron had finally finished his second helping of dessert the group got up to head back to Gryffindor tower. Before Hermione had a chance to react, Fred had wrapped his arm around her waist while George had his wrapped around her shoulders. "Er…"

"So, Hermione, did you really think they were spectacular?" Fred pulled her close.

"Yes. It was some really good magic. How long did it take you to figure them out?" She tried to ignore the feel of Fred's side pressed against hers and the arm that held her snuggly. George's arm wasn't near as distracting since it was casually loose on her shoulders.

"It took us a while." George began.

"But not too long, mind you."

"Imagine what we could do-."

"If we borrowed that brain of yours sometime." Fred finished.

"I don't think so." Hermione shook her head. Her arms were self consciously crossed over her chest. "I can appreciate your Wheezes when put to such good use. But I wouldn't want to be responsible for creating them. You two have enough evil genius you certainly don't need my help."

"Did Hermione Granger just call us geniuses?" Fred questioned.

"I believe she did." George threw her a lopsided smile. "There may be hope for you yet, Granger."

"Lovely." She tried to make her voice as sarcastic as possible, but as she was still being distracted by Fred's closeness, it didn't quite have the conviction she had hoped. They refused to release her until they reached the portrait.

"Ladies first." Fred gestured grandly towards the open portrait. She cast them a suspicious look before climbing through. Fred ignored his brother's smile and enjoyed the view.